Doll&#39;s voice mechanism



1957 J. TANCREDI ETAL DOLL'S VOICE MECHANISM Filed April 12, 1955 INVENTORSQ 'Josz y 72/vcmfo/ BY AND/Paw pus 095w y;

147' 7 OP/YE Y United States Patent DOLLS VOICE MECHANISM Joseph Tancredi and Andrew Tancredi, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application April 12, 1955, Serial No. 500,958

3 Claims. (Cl. 46-180) This invention relates to a dolls voice mechanism and, as specifically shown herein, although not so limited, to a voice mechanism which is adapted for use as a throat voice box.

It is an object of our invention to provide a voice mechanism of the character described which, unlike conventional similar mechanisms, does not swell and shrink with changes in temperature and humidity, so that it can be snugly fitted into and frictionally retained in openings in mass-produced doll bodies and receive other components in a similar manner, all without individual adjustment for this purpose.

It is another object of our invention to provide a voice mechanism of the character described having a smooth and glossy surface which is not likely to injure an infant or young child who dismembers a doll, minimizes damage and simplifies assembly.

It is another object of our invention to provide a voice mechanism of the character described which can be manufactured inexpensively to close tolerances by mass production methods.

It is another object of our invention to provide a voice mechanism of the character described which will furnish a louder and more harmonious sound than a conventional similar wooden mechanism because of a unique sounding box effect and because of the presence of a larger resounding chamber than can be supplied within the same overall external dimensions by a wooden voice box.

It is another object of our invention to provide a voice mechanism of the character described which requires less effort to actuate than a conventional wooden voice box.

Other objects of our invention in part will be obvious and in part will be pointed out hereinafter.

Our invention accordingly consists of features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the voice boxes hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown various embodiments of our invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, vertical, central, sectional view through a doll in the region of the neck, the same including a voice mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the parts shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front view of a dolls voice mechanism embodying a modified form of our invention; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view, partly broken away, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 through 3, the reference numeral denotes a dolls'voice mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention and located in the neck 12 of a conventional rubber skin doll 14. The voice mechanism thus is disposed between the body and head 16 of the doll.

2,777,252 Patented Jan. 15, 1957 More particularly, the voice mechanism 10 includes a voice box 18 which is made by molding from a synthetic plastic material, and constitutes a cylindrical side wall 20 and a flat bottom wall 22 integrally formed, i-. e., in one piece, therewith. Any conventional synthetic plastic material can be used which will provide a stiff, hard wall, examples thereof being cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, melamine resins, styrene resins, acrylic resins and phenolic resins. The voice box can be made by any suitable method of molding, e. g., injection molding, compression molding or transfer molding.

The external surface of the voice box, except the upper portion described in detail hereinafter, is of uniform, cylindrical shape and the bottom surface is plane. The bottom wall is provided with openings to allow the passage of air therethrough. As shown herein, the openings may be in the form of a large number of small through apertures 24 that are formed during molding.

During the molding, we also provide a reed-receiving lateral through-opening 26 in the side wall 20.

The top of the side wall is fashioned with a projecting flange 28, beneath which a groove 30 provides an annular recess in the external surface of the voice box.

The voice box is inserted, bottom end lowermost, through the neck 12 until it is at the proper height. in this position, the bottom wall customarily will touch the body stufiing 32. The assembler determines the position of the lateral opening 26 through the thin skin of the neck, and with an instrument pierces the skin over the opening. A bushing 34 is inserted through the slit thus formed. The external diameter of the bushing is of the proper size to tightly frictionally sandwich the inturned tubular portion 36 of the rubber skin between said bushing and the walls of the lateral opening 26.

The bushing receives and supports a sounding element 38 of the usual construction. Said element includes a split metal sleeve 40 which, when slightly constricted, is slidable into the bushing 34. The sleeve is integrally provided with a long jutting lip 42 that is overlain by a metal reed 44 secured to the lip by clip fingers 46. Thus the sounding element is firmly held in place and is safe from a childs prying fingers.

The reed is of the type which will produce a certain desired noise, as is well known, when air flows outward under the tip of the reed and over the rim of the lip 42. Accordingly, the desired noise is created by squeezing either the dolls head, if it is soft, or the body, if it is soft, thereby forcing air into the voice box and out through the sleeve 40. It will be observed that the tiny openings 24 permit air to pass from the body into the voice box without allowing the body stuffing to contract and disturb the sounding element- It has been customary heretofore to make voice boxes from wood. These expanded or contracted with change in temperature and humidity, so that, on occasion, it was comparatively difficult to insert the bushing 40, and other times the bushing was so loose it would drop out. This has been entirely overcome by making the voice box from a synthetic plastic material; we are now able to secure a uniform frictional engagement between the inturned tubular rubber portion 36 and the inside walls of the opening 26. Moreover, the plastic voice box cannot injure an infant who pulls the doll apart and chews on it.

Another advantage of great importance arising from the use of plastic in the voice box is the change in timbre and amplitude of the dolls voice. We have discovered that the sound produced is considerably louder and more harmonious when the voice box is made from plastic rather than wood or metal, and believe this is due in part to the presence of the larger resonance chamber formed by the thinner walls, and in part to the stilf thin wall capping the otherwise open end of the resonance chamber which forms a substantially total reflecting surface for thev internalledge 48 which is adaptedto have seatedthereina disc 50, fabricated, for example, from cardboard or plastic. and serving to protect the sounding element from injury should the soft head be depressed towardthe voice box. The disc additionally improves the quality and magnitude of the sound produced, but is less ettective in this respect than the integrally formed bottom wall, inasmuch as the connection between the periphery of the disc 50 and the side walls of the casing tend to dampenvibration of the disc.

The head is connected to the box in the usual fashion by engaging the inturned lower flange 52 at the base of the head in the groove 30.

Another voice box 60 embodying a modified form of our invention, is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The voice box d differs basically from the voice box in'thatit is formed in two halves rather than as a singlepiece.

More specifically, the voice-box 60 includes a left-hand half 62 and a right-hand half 64. Each'half includesla semicircular side wall 66, a fiat bottomwall 68, a domed portion 70, and a top wall 72, these allbeing integral i. e. in one piece, with one another. Each half is formed by molding from a synthetic plastic material.

It is pointed out that by having the bottom wall and top wall in one piece with the side walls and dome, the desired harmonious resonantefiect is secured in the same manner as in the voice box 10, despite the fact that the box 60 is in two halves.

The two halves are permanently secured to one another in any suitable fashion, e. g., by autogenous Welding or the use of a piastic cement.

The side walls of one of the halves are formed during molding with a through lateral reed-receiving opening 74, similar to the opening 26 in the voicebox 10. The bottom wall of each of the halves is fashioned with plural openings which, in this form of the invention, are in the form of thin parallel slits 7 6 extending from the periphery of the bottom wall toward and at right angles totthe plane at which the two halves are joined.

The top wall is provided with an integral plastiehook 78 which conventionally is utilized in connection with other doll parts.

The voice box is adapted tobe secured in a dolland to have a sounding element mounted therein, in the same manner as the voice box 10.

If thus will be seen that we have provided voice boxes which achieve the several objects of our invention, and are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodimentsabove set.forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and, not in-a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by'Letters Patent:

1. A voice box forming a resonance chamber and entirely constituted of a hard synthetic plastic, said box comprising a cylindrical side wall and a thin stiff planar transverse sound reflecting end wall in onepiece with the side wall, said side wall "having an opening therethrough, said end wall having small through openings for the passage of air, and a reed-type sounding mechanism fitted in said side wall opening and located within said chamber, the'interior surfaces of said walls being smooth so as to squelch even harmonics.

2. A.voice boxas set forth in claim 1 wherein the entire box consists of but a single piece.

3. A voice box as set forth in claim 1 wherein the box constitutes two abutting halves each of whichincludes a side wall, a bottom wall, and a top Wall, the two side walls jointly constituting the side wall of the voice box, the two bottom walls jointly constituting the bottom wall of the voice box, and the two top walls jointly constituting a top wall for the box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,651,137 Lloyd Nov. 29, 1927 1,769,251 Bocchino July 1, 1930 2,177,211 Fulton Oct. 24, 1.937 2,570,816 Kimple Oct. 9, 1951 2,583,400 Wade Jan. 22, 1952 2,584,549 Carhart Feb. 5, 1952 2,607,162 Hoefiich Aug. 19, 1952 2,653,412 Wolfe Sept. 29, 1953 

